CCSS Statewide Employee Survey Results

Spring 2025

Introduction

This report summarizes the key statewide findings from the Spring 2025 Campus Climate Survey, administered by The Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (The RP Group). The survey garnered 100 respondents, providing a cross-section of employee sentiment regarding the campus climate. The results reveal both strengths to build upon and areas requiring intervention to ensure an inclusive, supportive workplace for all employees. The statewide results presented below represent aggregated responses across all participating institutions. However, for some items, results from select colleges are excluded due to institutional customizations in which certain survey questions were not administered locally.

Demographics

The demographic characteristics of all survey respondents across participating institutions are summarized below. Each institution received its own local data, enabling further disaggregation of categories such as “Other – Write-In” as appropriate for local analyses. The statewide overview presented here provides a comparative reference point for campuses to contextualize their own respondent demographics. Because the gender and race/ethnicity questions appeared at the conclusion of the survey, some participants did not encounter these items. In the table below, we analytically differentiate between respondents who reached the end of the survey but did not answer these non-required questions and those who exited the survey prior to completion.

n %
Employment Area
Academic/Instruction Services 47 49%
Student Support Services 29 30%
Administration Services 13 14%
Other - Write In 7 7%
Employee Classification
Administrator 10 10%
Classified Professional 37 39%
Instructional Faculty 40 42%
Non-instructional Faculty 6 6%
Other - Write In 3 3%
Employment Length
Less than 1 year 8 8%
1-4 years 20 21%
5-9 years 15 16%
10-14 years 16 17%
15 + years 37 39%
Employment Status
Full-time 68 72%
Part-time/Adjunct 25 27%
Temporary 1 1%
Gender*
Endosex 1 1%
Genderqueer 1 1%
Man 12 15%
Woman 23 28%
Prefer not to share 9 11%
Saw Gender Item but did not respond 3 4%
Did Not See Gender Item 32 40%
Race/Ethnicity*
Asian 8 8%
Latine/Hispanic 15 14%
White 22 21%
Not listed 3 3%
Prefer not to disclose 14 13%
Saw Race/Ethnicity Item but did not respond 3 3%
Did not see Race/Ethnicity Item 40 38%
Note:
*Percentages may not add up to 100% for Race/Ethnicity and Gender items since respondents could select more than one option

Topline Survey Results

The results presented in this section reflect averaged agreement scores across multiple content areas related to campus climate. The percentages reflect the proportion of respondents who responded positively (i.e., “Strongly Agree” or “Agree”) across all of the survey items that comprise each construct. These aggregated indicators are designed to provide a high-level view of the overall climate experience, capturing perceptions across all employee respondents. These metrics are intended to serve as entry points for identifying factors that positively or negatively influence the campus environment. Additionally, colleges are encouraged to further disaggregate this data by specific survey items or demographic groups to yield deeper insights into the unique experiences of employee groups.

[Explain rating scale]

The topline survey results are intended to provide a general snapshot of the four main sections included in this report:

Empowerment and Agency

  • Employee Belonging at the College
  • Employee Belonging in the Department
  • Fair and Equal Treatment

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

  • NEED TO ADD

Safety and Security

  • Physical Safety

Trust and Confidence

  • Leadership Effectiveness of the respondents’ Constituency Group
  • Leadership Effectiveness of the respondents’ Department/Area
  • Leadership Effectiveness of the Executive Leadership Team
  • Leadership Effectiveness of the Board of Trustees

Campus Climate Experiences

The following sections show more detailed findings across the four dimensions: (1) Empowerment and Agency; (2) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility; (3) Safety and Security; (4) Trust and Confidence.

For agreement survey items, agree and disagree responses are aggregated and all respondents who selected another response (e.g., “Not Sure”, “Neither Agree nor Disagree”, or “Not Applicable”) are aggregated and shown in grey. We exclude all respondents who skipped each survey item, so grey bars connote active responses that do not align with either agreement or disagreement. The full frequency tables for each survey item are provided to the college in an excel file for further analysis.

Campus Climate Rating Overall

Empowerment and Agency

Overall Sense of Belonging

Sense of Belonging within Department/Area

Fair and Equal Treatment

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

Racial Tension

Experiences with Discrimination

Experiences with Microaggressions

Experiences with Microaggressions among BIPOC Employees

BIPOC is a term used to acknowledge the historic and ongoing experiences of systemic exclusion, marginalization and inequality faced by African American/Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color. Of the 60 respondents who reported their Race/Ethnicity, 35% identified as BIPOC, meaning they selected at least one of the following race/ethnicity categories: African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Latine/Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Arab, or Arab American, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The following section presents a comparison of reported experiences with microaggressions between respondents who identified as BIPOC and those who responded to the race/ethnicity item but did not identify as BIPOC.

Safety and Security

Physical Safety

Psychological Safety

Trust and Confidence

Overall Leadership Ratings

The graph below takes the aggregate agreement levels across all items in the survey asking about each of the following groups.

Constituency Group

Department/Area

Executive Leadership

Board of Trustees